Adam Jones and Mike Trout would vote for each other

June 12, 2013|By Peter Schmuck

OK, I really don’t know whether Adam Jones and Mike Trout would actually vote for each other if it came down to one or the other starting in center field in the All-Star Game, and a couple of votes probably wouldn’t make much difference with them locked in a tight battle to be the top vote-getter among American League outfielders.

Here’s what I do know: Jones is a big fan of Trout and vice versa, both making that clear while the Angels were in town this week.

“He’s a great guy,’’ Trout said on Tuesday. “I got to talk to him a little bit last year, being in the All-Star Game with him. He’s a great dude. He’s hitting over .300, out there having fun just like me. Obviously, he’ll play center because he’s an everyday center fielder.”

Of course, Trout could be an everyday player at any of the of the outfield positions, but the reason he made that point is because the return of speedy Peter Bourjos from the disabled list pushed him back to left field. Jones won a Gold Glove out there, so it’s pretty likely that’s where he will start if he ends up among the top three outfielders in the fan voting, but he isn’t going to complain if Trout outpolls him.

“He’s the man right now,’’ Jones said. “He’s doing a lot of special things with his talents in baseball. He’s fun to watch. I’m a fan of his, as I’m a fan of a lot of other players, but he’s one guy when I get a chance to watch, I pay close attention because you never know what he’s going to do. He can go deep, he can beat out an infield single, he can leg out a triple, he can make a spectacular play.”

Hmm. Sounds a lot like somebody who plays center field for the Orioles.

“He’s a little different than I am,’’ Jones said. “He’s a little more explosive. There is a lot of explosion out of that man.”